Packaging trays molded of thermoplastics, paper pulp and similar materials are widely used to support, organize and stabilize loads of relatively fragile, easily disordered goods, such as beverage cans. In the beverage can filling industry, beverages are generally loaded and transported in 24-can case loads. Since the time between bottling or canning and delivery to the customer is relatively brief, and because the cans employed fully contain the beverage, it is common industry practice not to enclose or seal case loads in packaging such as crates or cardboard boxes. Rather, the filled cans are typically placed in case loads on rectangular corrugated cardboard shipping trays in rows of six cans and four cans respectively parallel to the longest and shortest dimensions of the tray. The loaded shipping trays are stacked in an interlocked arrangement atop a wooden pallet. Corrugated cardboard shipping trays conventionally used include a cardboard bottom and four short vertical sides approximately two inches in height. When the conventional trays are loaded with filled beverage cans, the weight of the cans compresses the cardboard bottom, producing circular impressions formed by the can in the cardboard beneath each can bottom. These impressions help reduce movement of the cans during sudden lateral movement of the tray.
In a typical cross-tied arrangement, loaded trays are placed on a pallet such that adjacent trays are oriented at a 90.degree. angle to one another, rather than being placed in parallel rows. Further, trays are placed such that they are oriented at a 90.degree. angle with respect to subjacent trays. The entire cross-tied "palletized" load then is moved using a forklift and loaded onto a truck for delivery to the final destination.
However, beverage can packaging trays in the prior art have not provided adequate stability for the palletized load. Conventional, non-interlocking trays are stabilized atop a pallet only by the combined weight of the beverage cans and trays. Accordingly, there is great risk that the loaded trays may shift in transit, or that individual cans may be dented, scratched or have their labels blemished by can vibrations and consequently rendered in unsalable or unattractive condition. Further, palletized stacks of conventional, loaded can trays must be wrapped with strong, plastic stretch wrap or other material to prevent lateral shifting of the palletized load in transit.
It is also desirable that empty packaging trays be capable of nested storage to reduce space occupied in a warehouse, store or truck while awaiting return to the bottler for subsequent reuse. However, packaging trays in the prior art have been either not capable of nesting at all, or capable of nesting only to a limited depth; thus, such prior art trays occupy a large volume of storage space. Empty can trays also should be readily usable by automatic can packing equipment in loading cans onto such trays.
Attempts to produce interlocking can shipment trays to circumvent these disadvantages have not solved all of the problems presented above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,876 (Bridges et al) teaches the use of a tray for serving beverages having depressions on its upper surface for receiving the bottoms of insulated tumblers or mugs, and having recesses formed in its bottom surface to receive the tops of tumblers or mugs in a stack below. However, the trays described by Bridges do not permit interlocked, cross-tied stacking, and therefore do not substantially increase the stability of a highly stacked load. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,976 (Chadbourne) discloses a nestable, interlocking packaging tray for a variety of goods which permits multi level stacking, with alternate trays oriented differently from adjacent ones. However, the tray described by Chadbourne makes no provision for assuring the stability of goods placed within the tray.
This last-mentioned disadvantage was partially circumvented by U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,943 (Box), which discloses a bottle carrying and stacking case having a plurality of recesses molded into the bottom of the case for receiving and interlocking with the tops of bottles carried in a case below. The Box disclosure also provides highwalled separate storage compartments for each bottle, but the case described by Box does not permit efficient, nested stacking of empty cases.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,908 (Emery) provides a closed-bottle packaging container having molded restraints for preventing lateral motion of bottles in the container, but the container may not be nested. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,084 (Aleizondo-Garcia) provides a basket for carrying bottles having contoured carrying compartments, but the basket is not designed for interlocked stacking and nesting. It is also desirable that beverage can packaging trays be lightweight to facilitate easy return to the bottler. Prior art trays are made of corrugated cardboard, a material which is inherently lightweight. Molded plastic trays are considerably heavier, but general concepts for reducing their weight are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,208 (Roush et al) shows a packaging tray having a gridwork bottom which reduces weight by reducing the amount of plastic required to form the tray bottom. However, the Roush disclosure does not provide for efficient cross-tied stacking or nesting of trays.
To achieve the desired goal of deeply nestable trays, the present invention provides angled sides having a plurality of contoured cut-out windows in the tray sides which permit cans placed in the tray to extend beyond a plane perpendicular to the bottom of the tray. The use of such contoured windows to provide clearance space for beverage containers is shown in the Aleizondo-Garcia patent which discloses a beverage bottle carrying basket having similar contoured windows set in to tapered side walls. However, the Aleizondo-Garcia invention is unsuitable for cross-tied interlocked shipment of can case loads.
Further, the use of contoured window cut-outs in the base of a beverage container carrier is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,587 (Englander et al). However, the window cutouts in the Englander disclosure do not contribute to efficient nesting of the container carriers, but merely enhance the structural strength of the paperboard carrier described. Therefore, persons in the beverage canning, bottling and packaging industry would find it desirable to have a beverage can packaging tray capable of efficient nesting when empty and of use by automatic can tray loading equipment, and capable of sturdy, interlocked, stacked arrangements when the tray is fully loaded. This present invention meets this need.